Languages of Maldives

The official and common language is Dhivehi, an Indo-Aryan language closely related to the Sinhala language of Sri Lanka. The first known script used to write Dhivehi is eveyla akuru, which is found in historical recording of kings (raadhavalhi). Later a script called dhives akuru was used for a long period. The present-day script is called Thaana and is written from right to left. Thaana is said to have been introduced by the reign of Mohamed Thakurufaanu. The Dhivehi language is spoken by virtually the whole population.

Arabic is the religious language of Muslims as well as the language of the Quran and Sunnah. Arabic is taught in schools and mosques, as Sunni Islam is the state religion. The Maldivian population has formal or informal education in the reading, writing and pronunciation of the Arabic language, as part of religious education.[4]

English is widely spoken[3] by the locals of Maldives.[5] “Following the nation's opening to the outside world, the introduction of English as a medium of instruction at the secondary and tertiary levels of education, and its government's recognition of the opportunities offered through tourism, English has now firmly established itself in the country. As such, the Maldives are quite similar to the countries in the Gulf region .... The nation is undergoing vast societal change, and English is part of this.”[6]

• Demographics of the Maldives